The Burnaby South Rebels showed they are one of the teams to beat in B.C. high school basketball this season.
The quad A boys routed David Thompson 112-51 in their Lower Mainland quarter-final to advance into next week’s semifinal against Vancouver College.
South did not hesitate to show the upper hand against the No. 7 seeded Trojans, jumping out to a 20-4 lead midway through the opening quarter and building a 64-19 advantage by halftime following a 29-5 second quarter.
“We’ve kind of been holding it in until now,” said 6-5 forward Nick Trninic, who scored six points and had four steals in the opening quarter for the Rebels. “Our best basketball is yet to come.”
Thompson had few answers for South’s stifling defence and even fewer at the defensive end of the court.
South picked off the Trojans 19 times in the one-sided contest and got points from nearly every player off the bench after the starting five got the rest of the night off just minutes into the third quarter.
In fact, South’s deep bench played the Trojans even up the rest of the second half, including an 18-18 final quarter by both teams.
The efforts of the players off the bench did not go unnoticed by the Rebel starters.
“In practice we’ve been working so hard. “(The support players) show up to practice like us and deserve the credit as well,” Trninic said. “We’ve done a lot of bonding and supporting each other. It’s a great thing.”
In AAA quarter-finals, St. Thomas More moved on to the semifinals with a 57-38 win over Hugh Boyd, while Byrne Creek lost 72-51 to No. 3 seed McMath.
South and STM play Wednesday, Feb. 26 at the Richmond Olympic Oval.
